The era when Google Chrome was head and shoulders above the competition has ended. Today’s popular browsers compete on a level playing field. Internet Explorer 11 — the oft overlooked Microsoft standby — is being replaced by Edge, a lean browser for Windows 10. Mozilla Firefox and Opera continue to ramp up their version numbers, and Safari tenaciously scuttles along as the under-appreciated byproduct of Apple’s quest for global domination. You can’t really go wrong with any of the popular browsers, but there are a few things here and there that give each its own competitive edge. Updated October 30th,-2015 by Matt Smith:- Made minor revisions, updated popularity states Installation, updates, and compatibility Installation across the five browsers is basically-the same. Users can download them from their respective websites if they aren’t built into your operating system already (i.e. Safari comes preinstalled on Mac OS X, Edge on Windows 10, And IE on all previous versions of Windows), and each will typically download in under 30 seconds depending on your Internet connection. Below is a list of browser compatibility. Google Chrome: Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux Mozilla Firefox : Windows, Mac OS X , and Linux Internet Explorer (32 and 64-bit): Windows Safari : Mac OS X, Windows (no longer updated) Opera: Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux Edge : Available with Windows 10 When it comes to updates, most of the-browsers are now more or less equivalent. Background updating is the default practice. In the case of Chrome, Firefox and Opera, it’s handled through the app. Edge and Safari are updated through Microsoft and Apple’s respective operating system update utilities. Internet Explorer is the only browser that’s no longer receiving updates, as it has been put out to pasture in favor of Edge. However, it’s still available for use on Windows machines. Related:- Our favorite Chrome extensions-and-guide to downloading the Windows 10 Technical Preview Design and ease of use If we-didn’t know better, we’d say that the current trend in browser design is for the browser to disappear entirely. IE, Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome all attempt to be as minimal as possible, offering next to no actual text and small, monochromatic buttons that discretely blend with-the aesthetic design-of operating systems like Windows 8 and Mac OS X. Overall, all five browsers appear to achieve their goals fairly well. Below we compare and contrast browser design. Google Chrome Google Chrome: Chrome has-a lean address bar configuration, stripping everything down into a simple tab layout and address bar configuration that also doubles as a search bar Google calls the “Omnibox.” Like most browsers, the window can get incredibly cramped with 15+ tabs open, but it still does a fantastic job of delivering content whether you have the browser fully expanded or slightly minimized for the sake of space. Adjacent to the omnibox is Chrome’s simple standard navigational features (i.e. back, forward, refresh, home) by default, but you can easily slim down the window by customizing the toolbar and deleting any buttons you deem pointless. Chrome’s single-click bookmarking method, done by simply clicking the star located on the right side of the address bar, also makes bookmarking your favorite webpages a breeze and hassle-free experience. Related:- Our favorite Google Chrome themes Firefox Mozilla Firefox: -This browser features a similar, yet more useful layout when compared to its competitors, placing the tab bar above the address bar. Despite reaching version 40-of the software (it skipped versions 18 and 11 through 16, apparently), it still feels like the bulky predecessors of the software, refusing to unite the address and search bars in a single unified field like all of its peers. However,-this is more of an aesthetic issue than a functional one — you can search within the address bar or the accompanying search bar to its right. The browser offers the same kind of single-click bookmarking that Chrome does — all you have to do is click the star located to the right of the search bar — but there isn’t much else that separates it from the rest of the pack.-The settings menu is accessible in a similar fashion to that of-Google Chrome, allowing you to access various options by clicking a simple button depicting three horizontal bars located in the upper-right-corner of the window. Unfortunately, it also-takes up a bit of space that could otherwise be used by the tab bar. Internet Explorer 11 Internet Explorer: -Technically, IE 11 is the most minimal Internet device of the four, with less “chrome” than Chrome. IE 11 features a single bar that simultaneously functions as the browser’s address and search bar. The space at the top places your open tabs to the right of the address-search bar, making it somewhat more cluttered than some of our other picks given the amount of space the search field takes up, but it typically isn’t worrisome unless you’re really stacking up a high volume of tabs. Other notable design features include the single-click bookmarking star now widely adopted by almost all other prominent browsers. The two decade-old browser is being phased out to make way for Microsoft’s newest browser, Edge. IE is still available in-Windows 10, but-is not the default and will not receive new features. Related:- How to delete IE-and-how to run IE in Mac OS X Safari 8 Safari:- - The browser that has traditionally attracted criticism is now a serious competitor to the likes of Google and Firefox. The newest version of Apple’s browser-is fairly minimalist in design, but retains enough familiarity for old users of the browser to feel at home. Like its peers, Safari offers the address-search bar hybrid. Updates to Safari 8 include a share icon embedded to the right of the search field. The sharing feature serves as a way to bookmark pages, post to-social networks, and share via native Apple platforms (iMessage, Mail). The updated Safari is worth a shot for any OS X users. Mac users running the most recent operating system can even launch the browser in full-screen mode, essentially expanding the window and for the ultimate viewing experience. Opera Opera: This browser-embraces Google’s chromium Web-engine while-retaining signature features that distinguish the-browser from the rest. Opera has a single hybrid address-search bar like Chrome, but the alternative browser also sports Opera’s signature features, stash and speed dial. S peed dial allows for easy bookmarking and functions like “the most visited page” on Safari. Stash is similar to P ocket, -allowing you to quickly store pages for future browsing. The bottom line, it’s a clean design with innovative features that holds its own against the rest of the competition. Edge Edge: Edge-resembles IE-11, though with even smaller borders, fewer icons, and a streamlined toolbar designed to take up more real estate on your display than-IE 11. A solitary, address-search bar will also run the width of the page, as well as a trio of headline features that include markups, reading view, and Microsoft’s equivalent to Siri (aka Cortana). It is the standard web browser for Windows 10, and has integration with many of the OS’s features and apps, including Cortana and Outlook. The latest update gives it the ability to cast video, audio and pictures to Miracast and DLAN devices. Review:- Edge is chunky, crude, and not that fast Benchmark Tests Compared Most browsers are compatible with Web standards and handle speed with relative ease. A casual user probably won’t notice a difference in the Web page rendering speed between browsers. All five-browsers are much faster and leaner than the browsers of-a few years ago and become-even more so with each-new build. Below are our benchmark results for the five browsers, bold text indicates the winner for each category. Browser Acid3 Sunspider Kraken JavaScript Octane 2.0 HTML5 Compliance Chrome 45 100 759.3 ms 4366.4 ms 9437 523/555 Internet Explorer 11 100 405.4ms 7509.2 ms 5748 348/555 Mozilla Firefox 30 100 633.5-ms 4580.6 ms 6554 466/555 Safari 8 (Mac only) 100 144.5-ms 3357.5-ms 8615 400/555 Opera 31 100 735.5-ms 4256.6 ms 8638 520/555 Edge- 100 384.6ms 4231.3 ms 9117 397/555 Google Chrome bested the HTML5 compliance benchmark, and the test that indicates how “future-forward” a browser is, as well as Sunspider and Octane 2.0, which measures how your browser will perform under the weighted stress of gaming-or highly-interactive webpages. Chrome was outpaced in two-tests; IE, though ranking rather low in the HTML 5 Compliance benchmark test, performed remarkably well in the-Kraken-JavaScript benchmark,-a test that measures-rendering time. Safari did very well in the JavaScript-based benchmarks, but not as well in combined and HTML5 benchmarks. The second of Microsoft’s web browsers, Edge was faster-when running the-Sunspider benchmark than its older counterpart, and it-proved surprisingly efficient in regards to Octane 2.0. Like IE, it stumbled in regards to HTML5 — though, it still-scored higher than-its predecessor, which seems-appropriate. Related:- Could Vivaldi be a great alternative to Chrome in 2015? Extras Features are what truly separate one browser from the next given that speed and compatibility are no longer really an issue. That being said, each browser does have its own slate of differentiating features, from expansive app stores and add-ons to various extensions and tools, that makes it shine in its own light. Chrome Chrome differentiates itself through its constant updates, but also through its extensive Web Apps Store, which offers apps that blur the line between Web and local apps in some unique ways. Much of this philosophy comes from Chrome OS, Google’s desktop operating system based on the Chrome browser. Still, we like the idea and Chrome remains the most integrated software for accessing anything Google related (i.e. Gmail, Google Drive). If Web apps and seamless dashboard features are important to you, check out what Google has to offer. Check out the mobile versions for Android and iOS devices while you’re at it. Firefox Like Chrome, Firefox is on a six-week update schedule, and sports a strong catalog of extensions. Developers will have to retool many of these to support the newest Firefox iteration, but some users refuse to leave Firefox solely because it offers unique extensions that have become essential to their browsing experience. Most other browsers support add-ons, but Firefox may have a lead in mindshare here (for now). The built-in PDF viewer is incredibly handy, as is the browser’s support for Macbook Retina displays and grouped tabs, and Firefox remains the most customizable in terms of interface and display out of the five-on our list. Currently, Firefox offers a mobile version of its browser for Android. It also has its own mobile OS, though it hasn’t really caught on. Related:- Which browser makes you most productive? There’s now an answer Safari Safari may not have the admirable extension catalog to rival its peers, but it does have offer a good deal of extensions and utilities for productivity and organization. Unlike Firefox and Chrome, though, the third-party extensions are rather bland and aren’t as integrated into the software as they probably could be. The bulk of them also lack the “fun” factor found on other browsers, but hopefully Apple will take a cue from the current market and work more accessible and entertaining extensions into the Safari Extensions Gallery. Other awesome built-in extras include the ad-free Safari Reader, which lets you view solely text without all the unnecessary clutter, and comprehensive iCloud integration for syncing pages across all your devices. Safari’s mobile version comes preinstalled on iOS devices. It’s not available on other mobile platforms. Internet Explorer 11 IE11 sports heavy integration and optimization for Windows 7 and 8. Many functions, like turning tabs into new windows, are much easier with Microsoft’s new browser. It retains some of the unique features introduced in IE10, like individual tab previewing from the task bar and a new feature called site pinning, which lets you ‘pin’ a website to the Windows 8 task bar like you would a normal application. However, unlike an ordinary taskbar shortcut, pinned websites can offer customized “right click” menus. For example, pinning the Facebook toolbar will let you right click and auto browse to different sections of the Facebook site like News, Messages, Events and Friends. In addition, when you open a pinned site, the IE11 browser customizes itself to resemble the site you’re viewing. Currently, this only means the icon in the upper-left corner will change along with the colors for the back and forward buttons, but we like the idea. IE’s mobile version comes preinstalled on Windows devices. There’s no mobile version. Opera Creating a browser that can compete with the browser giants is an an uphill battle for Opera. That said,-the decision to embed Chromium has proven to pay dividends for the Scandinavian company. Opera’s add-ons library utilizes Chrome’s major apps, including mail and pocket. Thankfully, Opera doesn’t attempt to beat Google at its own game. Sure, the extensive Web-app store offers a variety of mostly-free apps, but Opera’s extensions are centered around the browser’s-signature tool, Speed Dial — -a touchscreen-optimized homepage. Each extension can be tacked to Opera’s Speed Dial homepage. The simplicity of having your Gmail account stored next to a dependable news aggregatior on your homepage is hard to pass up. Opera offers mobile versions for Android, iOS, and Windows-devices. Edge At this point, Edge doesn’t offer any-extensions. However, extensions-have proven to be more than just a niche feature given their wide-spread adoption in other browsers.-Microsoft has confirmed that Edge-will support extensions in one capacity or another, but-there’s no word on what exactly that will entail as of yet. However, Edge does offer an attractive and easy to use reader mode, that removes clutter and formatting from web pages and articles to make for comfortable reading on the web. Security and Privacy The most valuable tool for secure browsing is user discretion. Every browser has encountered security broaches in the past. And Internet Explorer and Chrome’s reputation for protecting users’ security and privacy credentials is spotty at best. Chrome, Safari, and Firefox rely on Google’s Safe Browsing API to detect potentially dangerous sites. Thanks to constant updates, Mozilla, Chrome, and Opera all make constant security updates. But-Chrome takes security a bit further by also scanning for potentially harmful downloads. There’s also encryption ad-ons currently in the works at Google. All browsers offer a private-session option, too. Private sessions prevent the storage of history, temporary Internet files, and cookies. For example, Internet Explorer 11 features a security measure called Do Not Track. Only Internet Explorer goes so far as to to block trackers completely from communicating with your browser. What’s more, according to a 2013-NSS study, only Internet Explorer blocks trackers used on more than 90 percent of potentially hazardous sites. Nonetheless,-Microsoft has stated that-Edge won’t offer-IE’s Do Not Track feature,-though-you will be able to-enable some tracking protection. This change of heart is because Do Not Track isn’t honored by many websites, including Facebook and Google. Related:- How to stop Facebook from using your browser history Popularity NetMarketShare’s latest numbers for desktop browser share show Internet Explorer 11 as the top dog, at 25 percent. It’s followed by Chrome with 15 percent, Firefox with 7.5 percent, and Sfari with 3 percent. Edge only has 2.5 percent and Opera is way down on the list, at half a percent. If you’re wondering why those statistics don’t add up to 100 percent, it’s because there’s also a wide range of people using older versions of browsers. Mostly, this means Internet Explorer — version 8.0, which shipped with Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista, is still used by 11 percent of browsers. StatCounter provides a much different view. According to its data, Chrome is by far the most popular desktop browser, with over 56 percent of all traffic. Internet Explorer and Firefox are tied at around 16 percent, while Opera has 1.86 percent. Edge is not yet listed. Why the big difference between these reports? It’s because NetMarketShare counts unique visitors, while StatCounter tallies all visits. In other words, NetMarketShare’s numbers reflect how many people are using a browser, while StatCounter reflects how much a browser is used. Once you know that, the numbers make sense. A lot of people default to Internet Explorer because they don’t know any better, and only visit a few websites each day. Chrome is often preferred by people who browse heavily and might visit hundreds of sites in a day. Related: -IE, Firefox, and Safari all have fewer desktop users, but Chrome gained some Which browser is best? For now, it seems safe to say Chrome is-the best browser on the market. It-boasts the largest and most useful selection of apps and extensions, along with a frequent update schedule. The performance lead it used to have is no longer in evidence, but it’s still a fast browser.-Chrome should be your first choice if you care about your web browsing experience.



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